The Bonds of Dullerton

In the mid-nineteenth century the freehold of Dullerton was acquired by the Bond family. The first of the family to own Dullerton seems to have been Robert Bond, a wholesale grocer and tea merchant whose business premises were in Shipquay Street, Derry. Presumably the success of his business ventures enabled him to purchase a small country estate. He died in 1875 and was buried in Grange. He was married twice and both his wives were also buried in Grange. Two sons who followed military careers are also buried in Grange. Colonel David Bond died in 1895 aged 55, while General William Dunn Bond died in 1919 aged 85. A third brother may have been Captain John Bond of the 93rd Highlanders who died in India aged 67 and who was something of a poet. At the end of the nineteenth century General William Dunn Bond carried out extensive building work on the Dullerton estate. Scribbled notes inside the cover of one of the valuation books show plans of the house and outbuildings. Notes accompanying these plans indicate that the floors of the house were oak in a herring bone pattern. The valuer added that the house had ‘generally first class fittings’. It also featured a verandah and ornamental porch. Two gate lodges survive at Dullerton: one is in ruins, the other in a mock-Tudor style, bears the date 1898. Dullerton is now farmed by Lowry Brothers.